Dear Diary . . . day by day

Sunday, January 7th, 2001 - The Joys of a Clean Kitchen

This morning I woke up and shuffled into the kitchen for my morning coke, and I saw a note on the counter:
The kitchen is
be-you tee ful.
Thank you thank you!
Jen
I had spent about an half an hour or so scrubbing down the island and wiping down the counters yesterday, so I was sort of baffled. Then I looked around the kitchen and remembered how last weekend I had bought a pair of fleck-lined rubber gloves and some Lysol-with-bleach and had gone at the other half of the kitchen. The combined effect was sparkling. Truly.
I discussed this with David yesterday, actually, how I'm suddenly much more willing to do cleaning chores around my house, and he pointed out (before I got to say it, as I was getting to the same point) that Aron is gone right now and I probably feel more inclined to clean now that I know my efforts will last more than a day (if I'm lucky) or two (if I'm really lucky). Jen isn't a neat freak or anything (otherwise she wouldn't date Aron) but when left without her somewhat messier partner, she's about as neat as I am: dishes can be left, but only for a day or two - three if you're way busy or depressed. She doesn't wipe down counters as much as I do, but she also doesn't have Aron's knack for flinging food all over the kitchen when she's cooking, so it's not as much of an issue.
Anyway, I'm a little embarrassed that she's noted how much cleaner I've become, as it just points out how messy I was a month or two ago. I'm wondering how much of this is how much mess Aron left or how much I like Jen or (and this is something I should discuss with Amber) how much I hate-hate-hate feeling like I have to clean up after a man. My dad never lifted a finger around the house, not even when it was Mom with the full-time job and him at home, and he never saw what was wrong with that. Aron would eventually clean up his mess, but sometimes that would take days. And he had no qualms about completely destroying a kitchen that had just been scrubbed so that it gleamed and leaving it a mess for most of the week. And when I do clean a kitchen, I like to admire it and feel good about it for awhile, you know? I mean, I can cook in a newly cleaned kitchen, but I'll be more diligent about doing the dishes right away for awhile. Maybe this is why I like David so much: he is the cleanest person I know and always - ALWAYS - has a clean kitchen.
Oh, dear, I've been ranting about this, haven't I?
Anyway, yesterday wasn't much to note I suppose. David and I played Merchant of Venus again, which was fun but time-consuming. As I left his place (after midnight!) I felt unsatisfied. There's not much conversation during those games - other than stuff about the game itself. And while that sometimes is a good thing between us, David and I haven't been fighting like we used to, and I'd like to experience that without a filter now. I suppose I can't have everything at once, though, so I should just hush up.

Exercise log:
Scrubbed the kitchen - no, it doesn't really count, I agree.
Writing log:
Oh, now, this is just sad.
I'm currently reading:
Reading now:
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Phillip K. Dick
The Writer - Janurary 2001 (magazine)
Still reading, off and on:
Woman: An Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier

My new PO Box is:
Heather Shaw
P.O. Box 13222
Berkeley, CA 94712-4222

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